Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2009-10: J.P. Anderson had good second year in the OHL with Mississauga where he had a record of 23-10-0-1 along with a 2.60 goals against average, an okay .899 save percentage and two shutouts in 36 games. He was named the OHL second team All-star as the goaltender. Anderson and the St. Michael’s Majors lost 4-1 in their third round of the OHL playoffs series against the Barrie Colts. He had a recorded of 4-5 with one shutout, a 2.78 and an excellent .923 save percentage in ten games.

2010-11: The third year goalie had his best season in the OHL with Mississauga where he had a record of 38-10-0-1 along with a 2.36 GAA, a good .911 save percentage and six shutouts in 51 games. Anderson and the St. Michael’s Majors had a deep playoff run where the team lost in overtime of the seven games series in the OHL finals against the Owen Sound Attack. He was the team’s best player with a record of 15-5, a 2.11 GAA, an excellent .920 save percentage and four shutouts in 20 games.

2011-12: Anderson started his fourth season in the OHL with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors where he had a record of 15-11-1-3 along with 3.04 goals against average and a good .910 save percentage in 31 games. On January 6, the netminder was traded to the Sarnia Sting to help the team with their chances in the OHL playoffs. He had a record of 12-12-1-1 with a 3.01 GAA and a solid .905 save percentage in 26 games. Anderson and his Sarnia Sting team lost a hard fought first round OHL playoff series 4-2 against the Saginaw Spirit with three of the games going into overtime. The netminder wasn’t able to elevate his game in the playoffs this season with the Sting, posting a poor 3.71 goals against average but a solid .900 save percentage while facing an average of more than 36 shots per game on an injury-ridden team.

2012-13: Anderson returned to Sarnia as a 20-year-old — playing in 53 regular season games and all four playoff contests for the Sting. He was 26-25-1 with 1 shutout during the season and had a 3.31 goals against and .905 save percentage. The Sting finished third in the West Division and were swept by first-place Plymouth in a first round playoff series. Anderson had a 6.02 goals against and .865 save percentage in the series.

Talent Analysis

Anderson is a proto-typical butterfly goalie who stays very square, tight, solidly upright and is sure of his abilities. The poised netminder has a calm demeanor, mental toughness and is quietly effective while having good rebound control and tracking the puck well in traffic. He has an added advantage by catching with his right hand and is rarely caught over-amplifying his movements or missing angles.

Future

Anderson will be competing in his first professional season as he battles for backup duties in Worcester. He could see starts in the ECHL playing for the bulls if the Sharks would rather he gain more real game experience.

Photo: Chris Tierney has been a key defensive forward and a leader at the faceoff dot for the OHL's London Knights in 2012-13. (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

The San Jose Sharks have six prospects developing at the junior level. While that number is small in comparison to other organizations, it is a case of quality versus quantity for the Sharks. The group consists of three defenders, two centers, and a goalie. All of them could be considered dark horse prospects at their time of acquisition but they continue to develop and surprise.

Photo: Left wing Matt Nieto leads a shallow group of winger prospects for the San Jose Sharks. (courtesy of Ed Wolfstein/Icon SMI)

The San Jose Sharks have long believed in the philosophy of taking things slow, and letting young players develop to earn the opportunity to play with the big club. Unfortunately for the Sharks in the last five years, there have not been many opportunities earned.

San Jose second-round pick Chris Tierney will be a key centerman for the London Knights during the 2012-13 season. (courtesy of CHL Images)

The San Jose Sharks finished the 2011-12 season with arguably the worst prospect pool in the entire NHL. This has been a familiar trend within the Sharks organization over the past few seasons as they have looked to contend in the Western Conference and have sacrificed some of their future to do so. Despite the lack of top-tier talent, the Sharks’ prospect pipeline has become something of a well-oiled machine; year after year lesser known, unheralded players go in, and well-developed, NHL-ready talent comes out. The Sharks head into the 2012-13 season with a strong batch of relative unknowns, hoping to silence the critics.